Frontier
WordNet
noun
(1) An undeveloped field of study; a topic inviting research and development
"He worked at the frontier of brain science"
(2) An international boundary or the area (often fortified) immediately inside the boundary
(3) A wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
"The individualism of the frontier in Andrew Jackson's day"
WiktionaryText
Noun
- That part of a country which fronts or faces another country or an unsettled region; the marches; the border, confine, or extreme part of a country, bordering on another country; the border of the settled and cultivated part of a country; as, the frontier of civilization.
- 1940 "The frontier was not a line, but a district where thieving Scot and thieving Englishman had sufficient liberty for roving forays." W K Hancock. Survey of Commenwealth affairs Vol II part I p.3.
- 1979 "Unlike a boundary, which evokes the image of a line on a map and demarcates spheres of political control, the frontier is an area where colonisation is taking place....no authority is recognised as legitimate by all parties or is able to excersise undisputed control over the area." The shaping of South African Society, 1652 - 1820. Eds. Richard Elphic and Hermann Guilomee. Longman p. 297.
Adjective
frontier
- Lying on the exterior part; bordering; conterminous.
- a frontier town
- Of or relating to a frontier.